Stuck
by PrincessCeliel
Summary: When an accident in Charms causes Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy to get stuck together, Hermione assumes that Headmaster Dumbledore will be able to free them...only he can't. The pair are forced to be together, and beliefs are questioned, sanities are threatened, and the whole of Hogwarts is thrown upside down in the mix.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Harry Potter - this is just an idea that I got after reading quite a few stories like it. I understand that it's an overdone cliche, but I happen to like putting my own spins on cliches. I would appreciate reviews.**

**Also, this is the Harry Potter universe for this story: Voldemort has been destroyed, and only a select few people have died (obviously not the people in the story). Draco and his mother were found to be not guilty. Narcissa had helped during the war, and since Draco was forced to do what he did under blackmail for the safety of his family, he was let go. The other Slytherins were pretty much the same, or else they were neutral. No one but their fathers really wanted to help the Dark Lord, and it is a sensitive subject for all the Hogwarts students, Slytherin or not. **

"Ron!" Hermione hissed under her breath. "That's not the right way to say it."

Ron glared at Hermione. "Hermione, it's a spell to attract rocks."

"Inanimate objects." Hermione corrected. "You're only using rocks for the experiment."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Hermione turned back to Neville and smiled. Neville smiled back and promptly dropped his wand.

"Here, I'll get it for you." Hermione offered, standing up.

"Thanks." Neville sighed.

Hermione chased the stick of wood around the classroom. She snatched it up and returned to Neville, slightly breathless, when Draco Malfoy pushed past her.

"Hey! Watch it, Granger." He snapped.

"You're the one who bumped into me, Malfoy." Hermione snarled back.

She moved away – or she would have, anyway. As soon as she reached Neville, her eyes widened suddenly and she barely had time to squeal before she rocketed backward into Malfoy. The two of them tumbled into the ground.

"God, Granger, if you're that desperate to have me, just say something." Malfoy groaned.

"Shut up." Hermione retorted. She could feel her face flushing as everyone's eyes were drawn to them. She stood up and walked away.

Once again, however, as soon as she got close to her desk, she practically flew backward. Malfoy let out a grunt as he was pinned to the ground.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Granger!" Snape snapped.

Hermione bit back a sigh. Of all the teachers, Snape had to be the one substituting.

"I don't understand, Professor." Hermione began nervously. "We can't move more than ten feet apart!"

"That's enough." Snape growled. "Everyone, sit down. Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, stand up."

The pair got to their feet, and Snape turned to the class.

"What spell were you working on today, Mr. Longbottom?"

"A spell to create a magnetic attraction between inanimate objects, Professor." Neville whispered.

"Now, Potter," Snape glowered. "See if you can answer this – how are the spells specifically supposed to be cast?"

"Uh –" Harry blinked.

Snape sighed impatiently. "I mean, Potter, what are you supposed to focus and point the wand at?"

"The inanimate objects." Harry replied slowly.

"Now tell me, class, exactly how many of you were pointing the wand at the rocks when you spoke the spell?"

Everyone looked at each other nervously in confusion. Who would be that stupid?

Everyone except Ron, whose face was slowly getting redder and redder.

"Weasley." Snape sighed. "I should have known."

"Ron?" Hermione asked, hoping what Snape was insinuating wasn't true.

"I didn't mean to!" Ron burst out. "I just heard something behind me, so I turned around to see."

"And kept saying the spell as you did it?" Malfoy roared. "Are you crazy? This spell isn't supposed to be done on humans!"

"Dumbledore will be able to fix it." Ron replied confidently. "Besides, it was just a mistake."

Malfoy swore under his breath, and for once, Hermione was inclined to agree with him.

"Weasley, since you created this mess, you can go and call Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore." Snape ordered. "The rest of you, get out. You're dismissed."

"What about us?" Malfoy asked.

"You two need to stay." Snape answered. "Now, get out!"

The class filed out quickly, and silence fell in the room. Ten or so minutes later, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore enter the room.

"What's going on in here?" McGonagall demanded. "Ronald Weasley came flying through my door crying about Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy getting stuck together."

"We're not stuck together, exactly." Hermione mumbled sheepishly. "We just can't move further than ten feet apart."

Snape quickly explained the situation, and Dumbledore turned to them calmly. "Can I have a bit of a demonstration?"

Hermione began moving to the door. As she moved, she started to take note of any observations as well. Once she moved further away than five feet, a strong sensation of being pulled appeared in her gut. She winced – it was uncomfortable, although not yet painful. Each step became harder and harder, as though she was swimming through molasses. Finally, at the door, ten feet away from Draco Malfoy, the pulling turned into a sharp snap. Her body paused for a second, and she gasped, before she flew backward.

This time, Malfoy was ready, and as she came, he caught her so they both managed to remain upright.

"That's very interesting." Dumbledore mused. "Mr. Malfoy, would you mind heading toward the door this time?"

Malfoy nodded tersely and moved toward the door. He had no trouble, unlike Hermione. She was fighting the feeling to follow him, if only to ease the tension in her gut. As soon as he reached the ten feet mark, Hermione was crashing into him.

"How very strange…no matter who is moving away, Miss Granger is always the one who goes flying. This reaction never happens in inanimate objects, even if the spell is cast incorrectly. It seems as though Mr. Malfoy is the dominant force." Dumbledore muttered. He turned to the other teachers. "When Professor Flitwick returns, we need to have a staff meeting."

"Until then, we need to sort out what to do with Hermione and Draco." Professor McGonagall reminded the Headmaster.

"Oh yes, of course." Dumbledore turned to them. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for now. I expect the two of you to treat this unexpected dilemma with the utmost maturity and responsibility, although I'm positive that I have nothing to worry about from either of you. Never fear, we shall figure out a way to separate you two. Until then, we shall have to make do with what you have."

"The two of you already share most classes." McGonagall remembered. "So that's not much of an issue. By tonight, I'm sure I can have a room ready that will be able to suit all your needs. If you come to my office before curfew, I can take you there. Unfortunately, for now, you'll have to choose where you want to stay. We will leave it up to you two, but you need to decide where you to eat. Of course, I don't need to tell you that rules are rules, no matter what the situation. I don't want to see either of you engaging in activities that are unacceptable for school."

"Of course not, Professor!" Hermione gasped, sounding aghast at the thought. "I will do my best to remain patient throughout this. Thank you very much for all your help."

"What help?" Malfoy muttered under his breath.

Dumbledore nodded. "Go down to dinner now, and figure out your new arrangements."

Together, Hermione and Malfoy stepped out of the room. As soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy turned to Hermione.

"All right, we're going to have to set some rules." Hermione began.

"I'll begin. We're going to sit at the Slytherin table for meals, understand?"

"Absolutely not!" Hermione snapped. "I deserve some say in what I'm going to be doing too, you know. Why don't we switch off? If we eat at your table, we eat at mine for breakfast?"

"No." Malfoy said flatly.

"What in the world makes you think that I'll do what you say?" Hermione snarled.

"I'm the _dominant_ force, Granger." Malfoy gloated. "That means that I'm _stronger_ than you are, and I can pull you along."

"That won't stop me from hexing you." Hermione warned.

Malfoy scoffed. "Go right ahead – just remember, it's not just me you're confining to the infirmary for the night. You'd be stuck there too."

Hermione glared at him, realizing he was right. "I'll tell Professor McGonagall!"

"_I will do my best to remain patient throughout this_." Malfoy mocked. "Real patient, complaining ten minutes after leaving the classroom. Besides, how are you going to get to her?"

Hermione growled at him. "I don't care, Malfoy, I refuse to be bullied into submission! I will find a way to make sure I'm not stuck with your stupid Slytherins!"

"You'll still be around Potty and Weasel if it bothers you that much." Malfoy pointed out. "You have classes with them, don't you?"

"That's not the point." Hermione whined.

"Then?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to be around Slytherins all day. You'll all hex me, and tease me, and drive me up the wall!" Hermione complained. "Besides, being in hostile area for so long is exhausting."

"They won't say anything to you if you're with me." Malfoy promised. "Now can we go? I'm starving."

"I don't want to eat at that table." Hermione whined some more. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she also never underestimated her power of annoying Malfoy. "It's embarrassing. The whole hall will be looking at us."

"The whole world probably knows what happened in Charms by know." Malfoy snapped. "Fine. Just walk part of the way so I don't have to drag you."

"We'll sit at the Gryffindor table?' Hermione asked in shock.

Malfoy didn't answer, moving forward purposefully. Hermione had to scramble to keep up with him, but her mood brightened considerably. She was a little surprised that he had given up so easily, but she didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Malfoy walked through the doors of the Great Hall, and strode toward the Slytherin table. Hermione frowned, halting. The Gryffindors who had all been in her class frowned, waiting for her to waltz over to them. They had all assumed that Dumbledore had been able to fix the problem.

"Malfoy." Hermione hissed. "You said we could sit the Gryffindor table!"

Malfoy smirked at her. "I said no such thing"

Before Hermione could open her mouth to yell at him, or explain everything to her House mates, the spell kicked in.

Hermione shrieked slightly and hurtled forward. Malfoy caught her just before she slammed into him and used the momentum to seat her on the Slytherin table bench, next to Blaise Zabini, who merely raised an eyebrow.

The entire hall fell silent, waiting to see what Hermione Granger's reaction would be.

She opened her mouth, furious.

"Students!" McGonagall barked. Everyone's attention snapped to their teacher. Dumbledore thanked her and took the stand.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, there was an incident in the Charms class this morning. Two students, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, were unfortunately affected by this incident, as they cannot move further than ten feet away from each other. We are working hard to come up with a solution to this problem, but until a counter-spell can be created or discovered, we all must adjust to the situation. I ask that you all please refrain from ostracizing these students, and try to understand if any special circumstances pop up that require assistance. Please, be helpful, kind, and considerate Hogwarts students."

Everyone politely clapped, and Hermione glared out at the hall. She gave her friends a hopeless look and slumped down. She was sitting so she was facing the hall, and she didn't turn around.

Malfoy slid into the seat next to her.

"You can make me sit here, but you can't make me eat." Hermione hissed at him.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."


	2. Chapter 2

**I would like to start doing something that I've noticed other authors (I was about to mistype and write "aurors") doing. What they do is take requests from people who want to see a certain story, and then, including what the person has asked for, they write out that story or one-shot. I would love to do that! For the categories that I like to write, more information, and etc. just PM me or check out my profile. Thank you!**

As soon as Dumbledore sat down, Ron Weasley stood up and stormed over to the Slytherin table. Whispers filled the hall, and everyone waited to see what he would do.

"Malfoy, what do you think you're doing?" He roared.

Malfoy turned around slightly. He sneered. "What does it look like, Weasel? I'm eating dinner."

"What have you done to Hermione?" Ron snapped. "I know you did something!"

"This may be hard for you to hear, Weasel, but you were actually the one who did this to us. Believe it or not, I didn't actually _want_ to get stuck to your precious Granger." Malfoy answered coolly.

Ron's ears turned red. "Why are you sitting at the Slytherin table?"

"Because I'm a Slytherin?"

"WHY ARE YOU FORCING MIONE TO SIT AT THE SLYTHERIN TABLE?!"

"Because I'm a Slytherin?"

Hermione stood up. "Ron, please sit down. I'll explain what happened later, okay?"

Ron glared at Malfoy. "There better be a very good explanation."

"Ron, stop. You're making a scene." Hermione hissed. "Go sit down. I'll owl you later, okay?"

Ron growled slightly before turning around and stomping back to Gryffindor table. Hermione let out a relieved sigh and sat back down. Gryffindor table all shot her sympathetic looks, and she gave them a small smile. She sat with her back to the table, like before, calmly ignoring the Slytherins behind her.

" Aren't you going to eat anything, Granger?" The Slytherin next to her, Blaise Zabini, asked.

"No." She snapped.

Blaise shut up, shooting Draco a questioning look.

"Aw, poor Draco; stuck with that know-it-all." Pansy trilled.

All around, the Slytherins laughed and gave Draco their condolences.

Hermione was practically shaking with anger, but she held her head high. She focused on the Gryffindor table, where her friends were talking to each other. They all had somber expressions on their faces, and eventually, someone would look over at her and give her a pitying glance.

Dinner seemed to drag on for forever. At last, some of the first years were getting up, yawning, ready for bed.

Hermione watched as her friends began to check their watches, and then gave her apologetic looks. They all stood up and slowly moved toward the door, before disappearing toward the Gryffindor Tower.

Even most of the Slytherins headed out. Only Malfoy and Zabini sat, talking, until at long last:

"Come on, Granger, time for bed." Malfoy stood up.

Hermione made a face at him, and then stood up.

"Real mature." He commented.

Hermione rolled her eyes and started walking out the Great Hall.

Malfoy followed after a moment – probably after debating how much fun it would be to yank her back with no audience. Hermione's face turned red at the memory of flying toward him in front of the entire Great Hall.

They walked down to McGonagall's office relatively quickly, with no major arguments. Hermione knocked, and they entered.

Professor McGonagall gave them a tired smile. "All right, let's go. Follow me, please."

They followed McGonagall through the school to a portrait of a couple that was near the entrance to the dungeons. Malfoy smirked, pleased at the location. Hermione huffed under her breath.

"The password is Lemon Drops, but of course, you can change it to whatever you two wish later. Just tell the portrait." McGonagall began as the portrait swung open.

McGonagall led them into a small, cozy common room. There was a fireplace, and two couches that were across from each other. A small coffee table sat in between the couches, which were a beige color. Bookshelves lined the walls, and there were a few games, like wizarding chess, that were lying on the coffee table. The entire room had a color scheme of beige and white. Originally, the two colors didn't seem as though they would go well together, but they were very well matched, woven together in a beautiful, intricate style.

Malfoy nodded his approval, and Hermione gasped in appreciation. "It's gorgeous, Professor!"

McGonagall nodded lightly. "This door leads into the bedroom. There's another door through the bedroom that leads into the bathroom. We put the beds there, so if anyone is in the bathroom, the other can remain on their bed until the bathroom is free."

Hermione peeked into the room. Just as her teacher had said, two single beds (beige, of course) were approximately ten feet apart. They were against the wall that also contained the door to the bathroom. The rest of the room was fairly small, probably enough so they both could walk around freely. At the foot of both of their beds were their trunks.

"I had yours trunks brought down." McGonagall explained. "You can choose whichever bed you want, and move the trunks around if you wish."

"I like my bed." Hermione answered. She opened the door into the bathroom and peered inside.

It was plain enough, and very small. She recognized several hair supplies and toiletries by the sink, and guessed that McGonagall had also taken the liberties of unpacking some of their things.

"Well, is there anything else you need?" The professor asked.

"No, Professor." Hermione answered for both of them. "Thank you so much – for everything."

"Hopefully this will only be temporary." Malfoy grumbled.

McGonagall gave them both an encouraging smile and left.

Hermione immediately got to work, pulling out her pajamas.

"I'll go into the bathroom first." She announced.

Malfoy was in the process of rummaging around his trunk. "Whatever."

She entered the bathroom and pulled on her pajamas, long blue pants and a large, oversized white T-shirt. She found her hairbrush in one of the drawers underneath the sink and yanked it through her hair before tying it up and stepping out.

Malfoy was waiting for her outside the door. He was wearing green pajama bottoms, and, well, nothing else. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and Hermione could clearly see everything that she'd never wanted to. She blushed and moved away.

"Shy, are we, Granger?" Malfoy smirked.

"I'd rather be shy than an egotistical prat who goes around flaunting his body." Hermione snapped. She dropped her clothes into her trunk and crawled into her bed, being sure to face the opposite direction of Malfoy the entire time.

He snickered a little and paused, before entering the bathroom. Hermione could hear him moving around in there, and she silently cursed his brains out.

After a few minutes, he exited and climbed into his bed.

The lights blinked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, thank you all for the fantastic reviews, follows, and favorites! I love them all! I'm so glad that this story is getting so much positive feedback.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to AuriDaughterofHermes, because she gave me the marvelous idea! I can't thank you enough, Auri, Daughter of Hermes. I was having such a difficult time trying how to figure how to keep Hermione in character. **

Draco Malfoy woke up to the shock of his life.

Hermione Granger was standing next to his bed, wand pointed at his throat, smiling pleasantly at him.

"Good morning, Malfoy." She said, still beaming brightly.

"Get away from me!" Malfoy snapped.

"Oh, I wouldn't move if I were you. I have some rules, and I am intending on setting them." Hermione hummed.

"Merlin, you're crazy, woman!" Malfoy barked. "Malfoys listen to no one!"

"Yes, but this certain Malfoy has a wand at his throat." Hermione reminded him cheerily.

"Well, what do you want?" Malfoy demanded.

"I want to sit at the Gryffindor table today. For every meal." Hermione told him. "Also, I want to be early for every class, and I want to spend part of our free period in the library. And I want to hear nothing but kindness directed at me. No insults, no name-calling, no 'mudblood.' Okay? Oh…and if you could be kind to my friends – that would be excellent."

"Fine. Except for the last one. You honestly can't believe that I can be nice to Potty and Weasel." Malfoy ground out.

Hermione bit her lip, thinking. "Okay, fine. But you have to be cordial. And use their actual last names!"

"Whatever!" Malfoy grumbled.

"Do I have your word?" Hermione asked.

"Very well." Malfoy said finally. "Now can you get off me?"

"Technically, I'm not actually _on_ you." Hermione corrected sunnily. Nonetheless, she backed away, humming happily.

Malfoy rolled over and reached for his wand – only to find that it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Hermione held it up. "You didn't honestly think that I wouldn't disarm you before threatening you, right?"

"Hand it over, Granger."

"I will, but only after we reach class. I want to make sure you uphold your end of the bargain, and don't hex me before we get out of the common room."

"I gave my word, didn't I?" Malfoy growled. He grabbed some clothes out of his trunk and stormed into the bathroom.

Hermione rolled back on her bed and sighed slightly. She was already dressed and ready. She had done it all quickly, careful not to wake the sleeping Malfoy, lest her entire plan go to waste. The scariest part was that Malfoy slept with his wand under his pillow. It had taken a lot of wiggling and silence to manage to steal it.

Malfoy came out of the bathroom almost a half hour later.

"My goodness, what were you doing in there?" Hermione asked innocently. "Did you fall in the toilet? You took a long time."

Malfoy snatched up her book bag and glared at her. "Let's go."

"Where are we going? The Great Hall?" Hermione inquired, this time genuinely curious.

"Of course. You didn't think I'd try to go the entire day without food just because you wanted to sit at the Gryffindor table, did you?" Malfoy smirked.

"I – well, why are you carrying my bag?" Hermione questioned determinedly.

"Why not?" Malfoy countered.

"Because you never carry my bag. You don't even like me. Why are you doing such a gentlemanly thing? Are you cursing it?" Hermione eyed the bag suspiciously.

"You're holding my wand, Granger." Malfoy sighed. "I can't believe you're the _brightest_ witch of our age."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, everyone's going to watch you carry my book bag into the Great Hall."

"Let them watch." Malfoy snorted. "It'll give them something to talk about."

"Ah, yes, the rumors. Who doesn't love Hogwarts and the rumors its students spread?" Hermione laughed lightly at Malfoy's distasteful expression.

He didn't answer her, instead opting to charge out of the bedroom at breakneck speed. Hermione had to run after him to keep their charm from kicking in.

_Great, it looks like I'm chasing him, _Hermione thought to herself in irritation.

"Malfoy! Slow down!" She called after him.

He took great pleasure in pretending that he couldn't hear her.

Finally, they got to the Great Hall. It was around eight thirty, so there were more than a few students milling about, since classes started at nine. Malfoy had to slow down grudgingly, so that Hermione could take the lead. Otherwise, it would look like he was willing to sit at the Gryffindor Table.

Despite what Hermione had thought, Malfoy neither cursed nor actually did anything to the book bag. He was carrying it, quite simply, because he didn't want to bring his own books to class. Since they shared all their classes, and had to sit together, why not just carry one set of books? Of course, Hermione didn't need to know that he was literally holding her book bag hostage, so she would be forced to let him share.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Ron Weasley growled as they approached the table.

"Ron." Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Last night, we sat at the Slytherin table for dinner. That means that today, we're sitting at the Gryffindor table."

"Don't forget that we're stuck together. We can't go further than ten feet apart. Where do you want us to eat? The floor?" Malfoy muttered.

Hermione jabbed her elbow into his side, just as her friends scooted to let them in. She slid in next to Ginny Weasley, and Malfoy got stuck next to some idiot named Dean Thomas.

"So, Malfoy." Dean said cautiously, once he was sure that Hermione was deep in conversation, and wasn't about to overhear. "How is life with Hermione?"

"'Life with Hermione'? You make it sound like I'm married to her." Malfoy sneered. "And, Merlin, that is something I do _not_ want to do."

Dean glared at him. "I was just making friendly conversation!"

"Let's get this straight. We are not friends. There will never be friendly conversation between us." Malfoy snapped.

"All right, all right. Geez, you're a grumpy one." Dean grumbled, turning away to Seamus.

"You said you would be friendly." Hermione hissed next to him.

"Cordial. I was merely letting Thomas know exactly where we stand. That is cordial." Malfoy replied. He buttered a piece of toast in a well-mannered fashion.

Ron glared at him. He opened his mouth, forgetting to swallow, and giving everyone a great view of the chewed up food inside his mouth. "You sure don't sound cordial to me."

"Do you even know what cordial means?" Malfoy mocked.

Ron's face turned bright red.

"Malfoy!" Harry Potter snapped. "Can't you just eat without causing any drama?"

"I think you'll find it's not me who is causing the problems." Malfoy responded. "Besides, can't you live without creating any drama?"

Hermione scowled, and with a muttered swear under her breath, she stood up. "Come on, Malfoy, let's head to class. I want to be early."


	4. Chapter 4

Their first class together was a complete bust. Hermione ended up trying to hex Malfoy, who in turn threatened to rip up the pages of her favorite book that was in her book bag.

By the time Potions rolled around, (with both Slytherins and Gryffindors) they'd been sent out of every class, had lost fifty house points each, and were both cranky, tired, and in horrible moods.

"Hermione!" Harry called, grinning as she entered the room. "We haven't seen you all day. Where did you go for lunch?"

"We were in the library. I wasn't really hungry." Hermione answered, giving him a hug. "And I missed you all too!"

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the display. They hadn't seen each other since breakfast, so what? The Gryffindors had no sense of personal space.

"Draco!" Blaise and Theo Nott called at the same time. They grinned at each other, before turning back to him.

"How was Ancient Runes with the Ravenclaws and the Bookworm?" Theo continued.

Malfoy shook his head slightly. "I don't even want to talk about it. I think I'm going to throw up."

"Ouch. That bad, huh?" Blaise commented.

At that moment, Granger was at his shoulder. "Malfoy, can we sit here. It's near two empty tables, so we can both sit by our friends."

"Whatever." He grumbled, dropping her bag with a thud on the table she'd chosen.

"Why were you carrying her bag?" Blaise asked curiously.

Malfoy explained his reasoning with a sigh. "Because I didn't want to carry two sets of books to each class. Since we're both going, and we both have to bring books, I figured I would hold her book bag hostage and force her to let me share."

"Doesn't that technically defeat the purpose of it though, since you're still the one carrying the books?" Theo asked. "I mean, if she was carrying them, I'd get it, but you are, so..."

Malfoy paused. "Shut it."

The class quieted down as Professor Snape entered the room and began the lesson.

Since they were sitting together, Hermione and Draco were required to work together.

"Listen, Malfoy, I really don't want to get thrown out of another class. Can we just call a truce for this one period and work together?" Hermione pleaded as soon as Snape stopped talking. "I'm tired of getting yelled at."

"Fine." Malfoy said crisply. "But you can't be a bossy know-it-all. If we work together, you take my words into account, too. I'm not Longbottom. I'm not going to run around just because you said to."

"Sure, whatever." Hermione agreed, brightening up slightly. "Let's see, the textbook says that we have to gather all the ingredients, mash them up, mix them, and then heat them."

"Split the list in half, we can each gather half the ingredients." Malfoy ordered.

Hermione nodded. "That's what I was going to say."

Together, they walked to the supply cabinet and snatched up the ingredients that the potion called for.

There was absolute silence as the mashed, mixed, and heated. By the end of class, theirs was the only potion that was the exact shade of blue that it was supposed to be.

Snape walked around, checking everyone's work.

"Potter and Weasley, what exactly is this? Does this potion look in any way, shape, or form, blue to you?" He snapped.

"No, sir." Harry mumbled. "It's lilac."

"Longbottom, Thomas, this potion is too thick. Did you mix some cake batter along with the proper ingredients?"

"No, sir." Thomas muttered.

"Zabini, Nott, your potion is satisfactory. Next time, don't stir it so much."

The entire class seemed to hold its breath as Snape approached Draco and Hermione's potion.

"The potion is the correct color." Snape announced. "Ten points to Slytherin."

Hermione opened her mouth, but Draco jabbed her in the side with his elbow.

Snape watched this display with a bored expression, before heaving a sigh.

"And five points to Gryffindor." He added with clear reluctance.

The entire class seemed to gasp as Snape swept back to the front of the room. "You're dismissed! Don't forget about your essays, due next week."

Everyone moved outside, and whispers sprung up all around.

"Did you hear that? Snape never gives out points to Gryffindors!"

"Especially Hermione Granger. Do you think he's sick?"

"I think the world's ending. Again. Maybe there's another prophecy."

"Oh man, I don't think the world could stand another apocalypse."

"What's an apockeylapse?"

"Muggle reference, I'll tell you later."

Hermione and Draco moved away silently, ignoring all the rumors flinging by at rapid, breakneck speed.

"We, um..." Hermione cleared her throat sheepishly as they turned into a less crowded corridor. "We make a good team. Thank you. You know, for not making me mad and getting us into trouble."

"Excuse me?" Draco turned toward her. "I wasn't the one who got us into trouble. If memory serves, you were the one who started the screaming match, and went to go hex me!"

"You were instigating me! You kept hiding your pencil and saying that my hair ate it!"

"Well, your hair is huge! You should do something about it!"

"At least my hair is natural!"

"Are you insinuating that mine isn't, because I can guarantee you, my hair is completely natural."

"Well, you were the one who threatened to rip pages out of my favorite book!"

"Only because you said you would turn me into a ferret."

"I only said that because you said I looked like a beaver."

"I only said that because you were chewing on your quill. Who even chews on a quill? How can you even do that?"

"It's a bad habit I picked up from chewing pencils. Besides, that doesn't give you the right to call me a –" Hermione suddenly paused and gave Draco a look. "We're being ridiculous, aren't we?"

"I don't know about myself, but you certainly are ludicrous." Malfoy replied arrogantly.

"Malfoy." Hermione began.

"Granger, it's our free period right now. Why don't we go to the library like you wanted, and forget that the other exists? I could use a little Granger-free time." Draco interrupted.

Hermione sighed. "Fine. Okay. Let's do that."

They turned in the direction of the library, both determined not to speak another word to the other.


End file.
